Heaven Is A Place, But Hell Is Where We're At
by damonandelenaforthewin
Summary: Damon and Caroline have both been burned by the people they love the most. And you know what they say, misery loves company...A/N: NOT a Daroline romance. romantic themes are delena, klaroline, & daroline friendship.
1. Everything I do, I do for You

**A/N: I don't typically take requests, but this was written for my friend Liz for her birthday tomorrow (2/24). So to everyone who reads/reviews, give a shout out to the birthday girl! :D**

Caroline could feel the sun on her face long before she opened her eyes, but the second she did, she wished she hadn't.

Lying next to her in her bed, completely naked and infuriatingly perfect, was none other than Damon Salvatore.

"Mornin', Blondie," He quipped, his body facing hers, propped up on one elbow. Before she could do anything besides gasp, he was out of her bed, boxers on, and Caroline was chastely gathering the sheets around her in an attempt to seem less...indecent. Not that Damon had 't already seen everything she had to offer.

Her nose wrinkled in disgust as Damon zipped up his black jeans, his perfectly chiseled abs pale in the morning light.

"You're such an ass," She said, pushing her hair behind her ears and tucking her legs up against her chest.

"Hey, you wanted it just as much as i did," Damon replied, giving her a lascivious glance before turning to look for his black t-shirt.

Caroline rolled her eyes. In one fluid movement, courtesy of vampire speed, she was back into her pajama shorts and a tank top.

"You should leave before my mom wakes up. The last thing i want to explain is why Damon Salvatore was in my bed."

Damon's eyebrows raised mischeviously.

"You didn't care about explanations the last time we shared your bed."

Caroline's eyes narrowed. "That was before i knew what you were, jerk-face. Or should i saw _who_ you were."

"Uh-uh-uh. Don't forget what you are, too," Damon murmured, curling one of her blonde ringlets around his index finger before she slapped his hand away. Damon was constantly invading people's personal space, and it never sat well with Caroline. She hated that she had emotions she couldn't control, and if that wasn't already mandatory with vampire territory, she didn't need Damon making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and her stomach drop to the floor.

She crossed the room to her closet, prepared to find a more suitable outfit for the rest of her day, when suddenly she turned back, her face full of regret.

"You don't- I mean...you don't feel guilty, about us, at all? I mean, I- I know there isn't an 'us', but there's what we did. And you love Elena."

Damon's eyes clouded for just a second, or at least Caroline could have sworn they did, before they narrowed.

"And you love wolf-boy. But guess what? They don't love us back. We don't owe them anything, Caroline. Stop feeling guilty. We're monsters, remember?" Damon replied, the elder vampire clearly resolute in his train of thought. He had finally found his shirt, and was pulling it over his shoulders before turning to find his boots.

Caroline bit her lip, her voice tentative, the pitch slightly higher than usual. "Is that what she called you?"

"It's what I am. It's what we both are."

Caroline shook her head. "But they're not human either. Tyler's a hybrid, Elena's the doppelganger, and I-"

Damon stopped her mid-sentance, a finger to her lips, but she'd stopped talking more out of surprise of his proximity to her. She would never be used to vamp-speed, even though she possessed it herself.

"It doesn't matter what they are, or who they are. They're always going to be better than us. You sacrificed everything you had, your dignity, your free will, to keep Klaus from killing Tyler, and where did that get you?" Damon demanded. He seemed to be almost angry, as if the thought of what had happened between her, Tyler and Klaus genuinely affected him.

Caroline frowned, her blue eyes big with unspilled tears. "It got me nothing," She whispered, tilting her head in a gesture of acceptance.

Damon was right. When Klaus had demanded she give him the time of day, or else he'd make Tyler dead-dead, she'd had to go along with it. And when Tyler had caught her and the Original kissing, he swore he'd never forgive her.

"_Don't you understand? I did it for you. Everything i've done was always for you_."

But her love didn't make up for her betrayl.

Damon's voice softened. "And look where it got me."

More memories swept across Caroline's mind. Elena's rants about how Damon had ruined everything between her and Bonnie, how their friendship would never be the same- how he was always trying to control her, making her feel guilty for loving Stefan and not him.

_ "But he did it to save you. He's in love with you. Everything he's done was always for you." _

_ Elena's eyes, usually so lit up and compassionate, were now hard and angry, in a katherine-esque manner. "Clearly, that's the problem." _

Elena hadn't spoken to Damon since that night, refused to forgive him, at least for the meantime.

And that was how she had fallen into bed with Damon again, two lonely souls at the mystic grill, compelling the bartenders into free shots, just trying to imagine a world where the one they loved the most finally loved them back.

Caroline met Damon's eye, a new conviction in her heart.

"You're right. We don't owe them anything."

Damon smirked. "Now you're gettin' it."


	2. liquor on your lips makes you dangerous

A few nights had passed since the indiscretion with Damon, and Caroline hadn't seen him since._ I shouldn't feel so miffed_, she thought, twirling the straw around in her drink. _It's not like i like him. _

And it was true. Caroline had never been a big Damon fan- he had, after all, used her, talked down to her, and threatened to kill her on more than one occasion. No, it wasn't actually Damon that she sought out. It was the reprieve from lonliness. The company of another person who knew exactly how she felt. If anything, she was using him, at this point.

Her mind strayed to Tyler. She still loved him, every fiber of her being still burned at the thought of him. So many conflicting memories they had shared; the night he'd left her in that cage to be tortured by Jules and Brady, and the night he'd saved her from being tortured by her father. The night she'd stayed with him on his first full moon, risking her life so he wouldn't be alone, and the night of her birthday where he'd bitten her. Everything about their relationship was just so fucked up.

"I am so fucked up," she muttered, tossing back her marker's mark. She didn't usually drink the hard stuff, but she felt that at that moment, her life warranted it. Tyler still wasn't taking her calls, Bonnie was dealing with witch stuff, and Elena was too busy fielding her own danger-prone life to deal with Caroline's emotional trauma. In Mystic Falls, there was a lot of live-or-die situations, but lately the living part was what she was having trouble with.

"Why do you look so glum, love? Are you a maudlin drunk or are you not drunk enough?" The suave purr of Klaus entered her ear, and she turned to see him sidled next to her at the bar, ordering another round of drinks from the bartender, courtesy of compulsion, as always.

Caroline's eyes slit, glaring at the sole person she blamed for everything wrong in her life. Everything wrong in _everyone's_ life. Hell, if it wasn't for Klaus, she wouldn't even be a vampire, because Katherine never would have needed a vampire to give him for his stupid sacrifice.

"What do you want?" She spat, accepting the drink that was set down before her. This time she only sipped it though- the last thing she wanted to do was get too drunk in the proximity of Klaus. "I told you to leave me alone. Haven't you done enough?"

Klaus frowned, picking up his drink.

"Are you still upset about your little hybrid plaything? Bitter because he doesn't want you anymore?" Klaus whispered, leaning in close.

"You ruined my life," Caroline accused, fighting back tears. She felt melodramatic just saying it, but who was she to be subtle? She was hurt. "I love him."

Klaus tutted, shaking his head. "You only think that you do. Trust me, pet. Desire makes people feel foolish things. But if he really cared for you, he'd forgive you. That's what compassion is, you know."

Caroline had to laugh. "As if you know anything about compassion. _Or_ love. You had to blackmail me into spending time with you." She knew she was playing a dangerous game; breaking away from honesty and now just throwing emotional barbs at someone who could easily tear her head off and compel everyone within proximity into forgetting either of them had ever existed. But she was beyond caring.

A dark look passed Klaus's face, but he surpressed his anger. He fancied Caroline's abrupt, fiery nature. She was one of only a few who had stood up to him in the past thousand years, and of all the others, she was certainly the prettiest. He wasn't going to kill her just yet. She just needed some convincing.

"I may not strike you as very compassionate, it's true. But i've been around long enough to know a thing or two about love. And that, my dear, wasn't it," He drawled, reaching out to touch Caroline's hand. She quickly yanked it away.

"_No_. No, loving someone is when you're prepared to do anything that person needs you to do, and them loving you is when they would never ask it of you. And since i can't imagine you doing a single thing for anyone but yourself, I doubt you're even capable of it, _Niklaus."_

Caroline felt she should stop now, but the liquor had her inhibitions diminished to all but a few, and she was on a roll.

"You wanna know true love? Look at Stefan and Damon. They would _die _for Elena before they let anything happen to her. And they would die for each other. And all you've done since you've come to this town is try to destroy them and everyone around them."

Caroline swallowed, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"The only thing you know about love is how to kill it."

And with that, the young vampire huffed away, all blonde hair and painful emotions, leaving a trail of onlookers as she made her way out of the grill.

As Caroline closed the door to the restaurant, leaning against the brick wall in an attempt to ground herself, she might have admitted that Klaus had looked stricken as she'd given her indignant speech, as if he had finally realized somewhere inside him that what he'd done to her was wrong. But if he was planning on apologizing, it was too little, too late.

She raised a hand to wipe away her tears, when out of the shadows, a familar shape emerged. _Damon. _

"Whatcha cryin' for, Blondie?" Damon asked, his boots scraping the pavement as he walked towards her, his hair mussed and his grin cocky. He was clearly already drunk.

"Nothing. It's nothing," Caroline replied, tightening her arms around her chest.

Damon smiled, this time genuine. "Come on, Caroline. You can't lie to me. I'm your _maker_," Damon pressed, leaning his back against the brick wall, mirroring Caroline's pose.

Caroline harrumphed. "My maker, huh? What is this, True Blood?"

Damon shrugged. "Could be. If I commanded you as your maker to come home with me, would it work?"

Caroline looked over at him. The alcohol was wearing off on her- damn her vampiric tolerance- but even sober, Damon didn't seem like such a bad option. Especially sober, she just didn't want to be alone.

"It just might."


	3. Someone as flawed as You

Damon heard the door slam with a thud and the footsteps on the stairs, but in his not-quite-awake, not-quite-asleep state of consciousness, it didn't occur to him that all hell was about to break loose if he didn't get up right then.

The blonde vampire next to him- this time not an Original- was fast asleep next to him, and then all at once, Elena was bursting open his bed room door, all flared jeans and fluttering righteousness.

She shook her head and scoffed as she took in the scene before her.

"So it's true. Stefan was right. You are sleeping with Caroline."

At the sound of her name Caroline awoke, her bra and panties on but her jeans and silk top strewn about the bedroom. " 'Lena?" She mumbled, before realizing where she was.

"Oh, Elena," She gasped, the shame seeping into her voice. The two friends met eyes for a moment- Caroline could feel the judgement coming off Elena in waves- and in seconds the baby vampire was dressed and out of the boarding house. That was a confrontation best had without her.

Damon raised an eyebrow at Caroline's quick departure. "Well that was a walk of shame if I ever saw one."

Elena crossed her arms, a look of disgust plastered on her face.

"What is wrong with you? First Rebekah and now Caroline? Are you going to go through all the women of Mystic Falls, or just the ones you think will make the most dramatic impact on me?" Elena demanded.

The two were toe to toe, Damon shirtless but in his ever-present black jeans. Damon's impossibly blue eyes sparkled, anticipating her snark-fest.

"Could you possibly be any more self-involved? This, once again, has nothing to do with you, _Elena_. Get over yourself." He turned away from her for a moment to pull a clean shirt out of his drawer and over his broad frame, expecting Elena to walk away in a huff and leave him be. But she wasn't going to accept his sarcastic front. She kept pushing.

"I refuse to believe that. You're hurt because of what i said to you about Bonnie. But you should know that sleeping with my friends is not going to make me forgive you."

At the sound of her words, her tone- everything about the way she held herself, as if she were above him- it was as if something in Damon broke. He couldn't help himself from what he said next. Every thing he'd been holding in, everything he'd refused to admit, came pouring out of him because of this one girl. God, he hated himself for what she did to him. But he had to say it. And she had to hear it.

"Is that what I'm supposed to be doing, here, Elena? Waiting on your forgiveness? Pining for you to finally toss me a bone? I'm _done. _I played the part, i _was_ the better man, i did everything you asked me to do. I told you i _loved_ you, right there, on that dance floor. A hundred plus years since i let myself care about anything but my own agenda and what did you do? You threw it away. You brushed it off like I was nothing." Damon's voice cracked at his last statement, his anger surpassed only by his anguish.

Meanwhile, Elena was completely taken off guard; her walls finally down as she listened to Damon's speech. She opened her mouth to say something, only to be cut off. He wasn't finished yet.

"If you want to pretend that what we've been doing these past few months, hell- this past _year_- means nothing to you, that you _only _love Stefan, that's fine. I'm not going to point out that you're wrong, that what i do wouldn't matter so much to you if you didn't love me back. But you can't come barging through my door every time I find another way to kill the pain. Because that's all i feel with you, anymore, Elena. Pain. So yeah, your forgiveness is the last on my list of priorities."

Damon stalked out of his bedroom, unable to look at the object of his affection any longer, leaving her to ponder his words in his house. He made it all the way to his car before taking out his phone to call Rick.

The phone rang a few times, when finally, a clearly still-sleeping Alaric answered the phone.

"Yeah?" He asked, his throat thick with sleep.

"Meet me at the grill in ten?" Damon asked, climbing into the front seat of his '65 mustang.

"Bad day already?"

Damon grimaced. "Bad _life_."

Alaric smirked on the other end.

"Well, you know what they say. It's never too early when you're day-drinking."


	4. You and I, we were born to die

Elena's eyes skittered to the door at the sound of the door knob turning. It was later on in the day, and she hadn't left the boardinghouse since her fight with Damon. Or, more accurately, her being cut down to size by Damon.

Initially, she'd felt confusion and indignity at what he'd said and how he'd talked to her. But it didn't take her long to come to the conlusion that he was right, at least for the most part.

"Damon?" She called out, standing up from the couch and taking a few steps.

"What are you still doing here?" Damon slurred, taking heavy steps into the foyer, his jacket slung over his shoulder, hooked by only his index finger.

"I was waiting for you. I wanted to talk to you some more, but clearly, you're drunk," She stated, crossing her arms. Drunk Damon was not his best look, she remembered having remarked before. He was a different person when he'd been drinking. His walls were harder to break through when he wasn't sober.

But she'd had a whole day to think about why something like that would even matter to her. Before, she'd tried to tell herself she only cared for him as a friend, that they were only friends. But she knew that at this point, that was a lie. And drunk or not, she had to let him know.

"I guess that doesn't matter. I just need- i need to apologize. You were right, Damon. I have been taking advantage of you, and your feelings. I asked you to be the better man, i wanted you to change for the better. I believed in you, and I depended on you. And I've realized that we have more than just an understanding, Damon."

Elena paused, taking a breath, and gauging Damon's reaction. He was standing before her now, jacket still slung over his shoulder, staring at her with rapt eyes.

"I need you in my life. And i shouldn't have lashed out at you for needing me, too. For wanting to protect me. I'm sorry."

Damon's brow furrowed; a memory coming back to him. Elena at her kitchen table, sitting next to him and apologizing for the fact that he'd lost Katherine. Something about the tone of her voice and the way her mouth matched her eyes seemed so similar in that moment as it had then; and once again he was taken aback by her sincerity.

But the darker part of Damon rebelled. Everything this girl had done to him, how she'd changed him, the things he made her feel and do- it couldn't be fixed with an apology. Her words now were a mere band-aid over the gaping chest wound that had formed by his unrequited love. And he didn't even have the luxury of hating her, because she was sorry.

So Damon did the next best thing he could- he reverted to being the opposite of who she wanted him to be. He lashed out at her in the only way he knew how- feigning indifference. Because he knew it killed her as much as it killed him, even if she didn't want to admit it.

Tossing his glossy black leather jacket onto the couch, he walked away from Elena, making himself another drink at the wet bar. To get through this night, he was going to need to remain as wasted as possible.

"That's great, Elena. It's been a day of revelations all around. Apology accepted," Damon replied, dripping sarcasm as he emphasized the popping sound of 'accepted'.

It was Elena's turn to frown, as she uncrossed her arms and stalked her way towards him, all but smacking the glass of bourbon from his hand.

"I'm serious, Damon. i never meant to bring pain into your life. The last thing i want is for you to get hurt. Please don't pretend this doesn't matter to you." She was pleading with him now, all sincerity and big brown eyes, but Damon just couldn't let her back into his heart. At least not until the next time she was the damsel to his distress and St. Stefan was unavailable for the saving.

"Why would i have to pretend, Elena?" Damon asked snarkily, picking his glass back up. "I told you i was done. Just because you apologize and I accept doesn't mean we're BFFs again. So unless you need me to save your life, i think we should keep the heart-felt talks to a minimum."

Elena watched as Damon walked away from her for the second time that day. He's not going to make this easy, she thought as she picked up her bag, preparing to leave. But as she opened the door, she found herself face to face with none other than her least favorite Original.

"Why, Hello, Elena, it's always nice to see you," Klaus drawled, side-stepping her and entering the boarding house. Elena shrunk back against the door frame, always uneasy in the presence of the vampire that had once drained the life from her. He noticed her reaction, but didn't remark on it. The thousand year old vampire tended to have a one-track mind, and this time it had nothing to do with doppelganger hiijinks- this time, it was centered around a very blonde, very bibbly vampire, that he was very much possessive of.

"Is Damon home?" He asked, a cruel smirk finding its way onto his lips.

"He and I need to have a little talk."


	5. Your Love Is Deadly

Elena's eyes widened, fear creeping into her as she registered the mood that the particularly volatile Original was in. What did Klaus want with Damon?

"He's here," Elena replied hesitantly. "Why do you need to talk to him?" A hint of defiance manifesting in her voice. Klaus merely smiled in response, and continued down the foyer towards Damon, Elena quick on his heels.

"Damon Salvatore," Klaus breathed, his eyes glinting as he caught sight of the wasted vampire at the bar. Without another word, the Original had Damon across the room, a foot off the ground, head slammed against the wood paneling of the boarding house and throat being crushed by an all-too-strong hand.

"What in hell," Damon choked out, his own hands grasping in vain at the ones pushing in his windpipe.

"Damon!" Elena screeched, crossing the room. Klaus turned to look at her, his expression stopping her dead in her tracks.

"I would stay out of this is if I were you, love. Wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Elena didn't comprehend his threat. She was just desperate to save Damon.

"Let him go, Klaus. Whatever he did, we'll fix it. Just please, don't hurt him."

Klaus loosened his grip, letting Damon drop to the floor, and went to the bar to make himself a drink.

Elena was quickly at Damon's side, arms around his shoulders.

She looked up at the Original, who was drinking some of Damon's best bourbon, completely nonchalant. "Thank you," she said, lips pursed.

Klaus smiled wide. "I didn't do it for you, pet. I let him go because i need answers, and if i ripped out his throat, then i couldn't have them. So, Damon. I need you to tell me, what exactly are your intentions with Caroline?"

Damon looked up at Klaus in bewilderment. "This is about Caroline?" He asked, shocked. "Really?"

Klaus took another gulp of his drink before sitting down. "Well, you know I fancy her, so I figured that your sleeping with her must have been an attempt to royally piss me off, and, well, here i am." The Original's smile was as caustic as his frown, and even more intimidating.

Elena spoke up first. "It had nothing to do with you, Klaus. He wasn't trying to anger you. He was getting back at me. It's what he does."

Damon stepped away from Elena, a look of disgust on his face at her words.

"Actually, Elena, it had nothing to do with you, either. I was telling the truth when i said it the first time. Caroline and I...we're nothing to each other. Just two sad, drunk people with heightened emotions who didn't want to be alone."

Klaus's expression changed, something clicking in his head.

"So you're telling me that you didn't seduce her? That she slept with you out of lonliness?"

Damon shrugged, glancing at Elena, who had her arms crossed, her eyes unreadable.

"Misery loves company."

Klaus suddenly seemed like he didn't know what to do with himself, like his legs had grown too long for his body. Without another word, he was gone, vampire-speeding out of the house. Damon and Elena were left alone once again.

Elena was the first to speak up. "So you didn't do it out of revenge?" She asked, her voice twinged with hope.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Way to state the obvious, doppelicious. I only said it three times."

Elena scoffed at his sarcasm, but didn't attack him again. Instead, she tried to lighten the mood. "Well, at least it wasn't me who needed saving this time."

Damon smiled, this time genuinely. "What a shame, it's Tuesday."

Elena frowned, a look of confusion passing over her face. "What do you mean?"

"Inside joke," Damon replied with a smirk and a head shake. But suddenly he was serious.

"I still meant what I said, Elena. I can't do the whole flogging-and-penance-act every time you get your panties in a bunch. I'm your protector, and that's what I'm going to do, protect you. No matter what it takes. The sooner you understand that, the better."

Elena took in a small breath, culminating in a sigh. She nodded. She knew that everything Damon did was just to keep her safe. She couldn't keep blaming him for the thing that had kept her alive, that had brought out the best in him. It wasn't fair.

"I do understand, Damon. You're right. And you're right that I have feelings for you." Her voice was soft as she admitted her deepest secret, her dark brown eyes searching his ice blue ones, wondering how he'd take her confession. She didn't think she could handle it if all she got back was sarcasm.

Damon's mouth quirked up, a sad, small smile playing on his lips.

"I know that, Elena. I was just waiting for you to figure it out."


	6. Where We'll Be And Where We'll Go

"What do you want?" Caroline asked, her blonde hair tied up off of her neck, one hand on her hip. She spoke to him through her screen door, and she was dressed as if he'd woken her up from bed. He probably had.

Klaus dipped his head, an instinctual gesture he hoped would help convince her that what he was about to say was true. He couldn't remember the last time he'd apologized to anyone. If he ever had.

"I'm sorry, Caroline," He breathed, his dark blue eyes meeting her light ones. Her expression was still as stubborn as before, but there was also surprise there. She hadn't expected this.

"For what?" She replied, her chin up in defiance. Her arms went up to cross above her chest. She wasn't going to make this easy on him.

"I'm sorry for blackmailing you into spending time with me, for starters. It was wrong of me. I knew you would never give me the time of day, and i just wanted to learn more about you- but it was wrong. It wasn't real. Not like that." He took a deep breath, wondering if she would say something, but she just kept staring, like she was trying to figure out if they were even speaking the same language. He took it as an oppurtunity to keep going.

"And I'm also sorry for what happened with you and Tyler. As much as I despise the thought of someone as- unworthy- as him, with someone like you...I realized how much hurt I've caused you. You love him. I see it now. And I'll leave you alone from here on out."

He turned to walk away, but the silence was broken and he was shocked still at her words. "Don't go."

He turned to look at the blonde beauty, now standing outside her house, closing the wooden door behind her. They stood eye to eye, speaking volumes without even using words.

"Thank you, for apologizing. I'm sure it's not something you're used to doing," Caroline started, a small smile reaching her eyes at her own joke. It faded after a beat. "I don't know if i forgive you yet, or if I ever will, but I will say that...It's not entirely your fault. You made me spend time with you. But you didn't make me kiss you. I chose all on my own to betray Tyler, and..." Her eyes welled up with tears, and Klaus wanted nothing more than to brush them away. "And i deserve what I got. To be left alone."

Klaus could feel himself shaking his head, his hand reaching out to cup the side of her face before he knew what he was doing. He let her though, the tears falling freely, making her eyes even bluer than usual.

"No, Caroline. You don't deserve to be alone. And you aren't. You have people who care about you all around you. Never forget that. Neve forget that you're wanted."

Caroline reached up, putting her hand over his. "You're so nice to me. You're twisted and you're evil, but you're never like that to me. Why? Why does no one else see this side to you? Why do you hide it?"

Klaus paused, not sure how to answer. In the end, the truth won out.

"I hide who I am because it makes me invulnerable. Love is a vampire's greatest weakness. And I...love you, Caroline."

And then the Original was kissing the tear-soaked blonde vampire, his hands in her hair, pulling her closer to him.

And to his great surprise, she didn't stop him.


End file.
